Something else or just regular blackspot?

Hi all!

New member here and new to rose growing as of last year, so I have a few things to learn yet! I have a couple of roses I put in last year and they're not 100% happy :o( We have an existing climbing rose that just gets absolutely ravaged by blackspot every year (to the point where I'm wondering if I should just give up on it!!) but these two new ones don't seem to be showing the 'usual' blackspot markings and despite countless google searches I'm just not sure what's going on! I've been treating them with Sulphur Rose, just incase. Also apologies if I've done this wrong!!

 

Are any other plants showing similar leaf damage ? Initial thoughts are drifted weedkiller , perhaps from an adjoining property ?

 

I think "not 100% happy" may be an understatement for the one in the 4th photo.

I am no expert (and hopefully the rose enthusiasts round here will be along to help), but it does seem to be a bad yr for roses generally if the ones on sale at garden centres are anything to go by, and new plantings like yours may have suffered more than established ones.

Blackspot is pretty endemic. You rarely see a rose down here without it.

 

Hiya @Megan Cartwright, welcome.
I don't think blackspot is the problem.
There seems to be some leaf deformation on Pic 1 & 2, looks similar to aphid damage?
The roses in pics 3 & 4 are not happy and looking like they are not taking.
When were these planted and how? meaning as potted roses or as bare roots?
Were there roses previously in the spots that these are now planted?

 

Not that I can see- it's a bed with geums/lavender/geraniums that all seem to be absolutely thriving!

 

It's not looking happy at all is it?! Poor thing! The frustrating thing is that I have another rose about 3m away that is absolutely perfect with not a single mark on it! Each rose is also disease resistant, which I know doesn't mean completely resistant but I was hoping would help a little :o(

 

I've just checked for aphids and there's no sign of anything at all- on the first rose it's almost like the leaf edges are starting to go brown as soon as they open... At the moment it's fairly limited because aside from the leaves affected it's put on a huge amount of new growth this spring! Both the roses were potted roses planted about this time last year. The one that looks really unhealthy actually grew well and flowered last year, so I'm just not sure what's changed so terribly for it! I'm feeding all the roses with Uncle Tom's Rose Tonic in an effort to help them stay strong!!

 

Oh I forgot to say, they're in a brand new flower bed that was previously just grass- we flipped and covered the turf for 6-7 months before planting anything, so it seemed like really good soil when they went in...

 

Which roses are they @Megan Cartwright, do you have names?
Roses are very hungry plants. Did you beef up the soil before planting with addition of farmyard manure and/or organic matter?
They also require a bit of time and room to establish and there looks to be a bit of competition for nutrients from other underplanting which seems quite closely planted on your pics.

 

The one that looks particularly unhappy is Precious Memories but I'm not sure of the other one, as they were both gifts and the second one was one where you could name it for the recipient, so I don't know its actual name, other than it will definitely be a shade of purple/lilac when it flowers! I did wonder about competition but strangely the one that looks the worst has the most space out of all of the roses I have. There is a geranium (a compact one) to one side of it and then two small, wafting little grasses and then a completely empty space in front of it, as I haven't yet got anything to fill that gap yet. I definitely tried not to crowd it and it certainly has plenty of air flow and space compared to photos of rose beds I looked at, unless Precious Memories is a rose that perhaps requires a much clearer space around it maybe...? For the purple one I'm at a bit of a loss, as it just seems to be growing so vigorously apart from those strange brown edges on the leaves...